A man who murdered his girlfriend’s two-year-old daughter while babysitting has been jailed for life.
Kevin Park must serve at least 22 years for his savage attack on toddler Madison Horn, who suffered 65 separate injuries.
He
battered her head off a wall, punched and stamped on her and is even
believed to have used a broken pool cue during the terrifying assault.
The officer in charge of the investigation said Madison’s injuries were the ‘most horrific’ he had ever seen.
The brutal attack came after the little girl’s mother, Anne Marie White, left Park to babysit while she went to a party.
Only hours later, Madison died in hospital after suffering a fractured skull, internal bleeding and tearing to her liver.
Last night, it emerged that Park has 38 previous convictions – including domestic violence.
At
the High Court in Glasgow, judge Michael O’Grady said: ‘It is the
misfortune of those of us who practise in these courts to hear of, day
after day, the dreadful things human beings can do, one to another. But
even by those awful standards what you have done is wicked beyond all
imagining.
‘A
child in your care looked to you for comfort, protection and probably
even love. And instead, for some reason quite beyond comprehension, you
inflicted upon her a callous, cruel and terrifying death.’
Callous killer: Kevin Park had been in
a relationship with Madison's mother for five months when he killed the
child. He was emotionless as the guilty verdict was announced
It
is understood social workers had no involvement after Park moved in
with single mother Miss White. Fife Council yesterday announced a
significant case review to examine if Madison could have been better
protected.
Miss
White held her head in her hands and sobbed as the guilty verdict was
delivered. The 22-year-old had been in a relationship with Park for only
five months before he attacked the little girl.
Miss
White had earlier told the court how he got on ‘really well’ with
Madison, and that the child would ‘shout for him’ when he was not in the
house in Kelty, Fife.
She
left him babysitting on April 20 to go to a friend’s birthday party,
leaving her daughter happy, healthy and jumping on a bed. But just over
three hours later the toddler was unconscious and dying.
A neighbour who had been in a nearby garden reported hearing a child scream at 6pm that evening.
Park,
27, called an ambulance at 6.15pm. Madison’s injuries indicated that
she had been grabbed or pinched by her ears and a pattern imprinted on
her head was consistent with being stamped on by training shoes. The
court heard that Park twice hit her head off a wall.
Forensic
experts who examined the house found two indentations on the hallway
wall, one containing a strand of Madison’s blonde hair.
A
dressing gown, which bore Park’s DNA, had blood on it and clumps of
hair. Forensic scientist Kirsty McTurk said the hair still had roots,
suggesting it had been pulled from the scalp.
Miss
White, who rushed home after being told by her partner that Madison had
fallen from a bed, said: ‘I was with her when she died. She just looked
so lifeless. There was bruising on her cheek, head and ear. Some of her
hair was missing.’
Defenceless: Madison died in hospital
after suffering a fractured skull, internal bleeding and tearing to her
liver from the savage attack
Madison died at 10.50pm at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife.
Miss
White paid tribute to her daughter during the court case, describing
her as a ‘happy child’.She said: ‘She loved playing outside, colouring
in, playing with her toys. She was spoiled by everyone.’
Recalling
the day Madison had been left happily playing in Park’s care, the young
mother said: ‘She had been trying to put my make-up on, as I had left
it on the bed.’
In
a statement following yesterday’s verdict, Miss White said: ‘This has
been a very hard and difficult time for the family and friends of
Madison. We are pleased that justice has been served.’
Park,
who did not give evidence, denied killing the girl, claiming she had
injured herself on a treadmill and then fallen off a bed, which
collapsed as she jumped on it at 5.15pm. He said it was only after 6pm
that he noticed her lips had turned blue and she was unconscious.
Minutes earlier, he claimed, she had been watching a cartoon and eating
chips.
However
pathologists said that the injuries suffered by Madison to her head and
abdomen would have resulted in her very quickly lapsing into
unconsciousness.
The
jury of nine men and six woman refused to believe the killer’s version
of events and found him unanimously guilty of murder, to shouts of ‘Yes’
from Madison’s family. Park was emotionless as the verdict was
announced.
Judge
O’Grady told him: ‘The question of when you will be released, if indeed
you are ever released, is not a matter for me. That will be a matter
for the Parole Board. In reality, no sentence I can impose can truly
reflect the sheer awfulness of what you have done.’
Turning
to the jury, he said: ‘This was a deeply distressing case. You have
been required to see and hear things no sane person would ever wish to
hear.’
Playful: Madison, who was described as a happy child, smiling and posing for the camera
Detective
Chief Inspector Scott Cunningham, the officer in charge of the
investigation, said Madison’s injuries were the most horrific he had
seen. ‘What he did to a defenceless child is unimaginable, despicable
and beyond any understanding,’ the officer added.
Nicky
Patrick, procurator fiscal for High Court cases in the East of Scotland
said: ‘Madison Horn was a typical two-year-old girl, full of energy and
vitality.
‘The murder of such a defenceless child has caused shock and disbelief amongst her family and the local community.’
VIOLENT THUG'S SHOCKING PAST
Kevin Park had 38 previous convictions when he killed Madison Horn.
After the trial it emerged that many involved violence, including a domestic assault before he met Anne Marie White.
The catalogue of assaults include two last year, when the 27-year-old breached his bail and committed a breach of the peace.
He also assaulted a partner in September 2010, then assaulted another person to their injury only six months later.
That was followed by an assault and breach of the peace in September 2011.
A the time of Madison’s death, Park was in breach of a restriction of liberty order.
It
emerged following the eight-day trial that Park had 38 previous
convictions, committed between 2004 and this year. These included
domestic assault on a previous partner and four assaults in three years.
At the time of the murder, he was under a restriction of liberty order,
which he had breached.
However, it is understood that social workers had no involvement with the violent criminal after he moved in with Miss White.
Significant
reviews, such as the one announced by Fife Council, are often
undertaken to establish if lessons have been learned to better protect
children and young people.
John
Myles, independent chairman of Fife child protection committee, said:
‘The review will be led independently and will take place in two phases.
The first phase will look at information available from files, records,
and policies and procedures that were in place before Madison’s death.
‘Work
on this phase has already started. Phase two will take into account any
new information that has come to light during the criminal proceedings
and will involve interviews with relevant staff.
‘We would hope to conclude the review by early spring 2015.’
At
Madison’s funeral in May, friends and family were told to wear pink.
The toddler’s tiny white coffin was carried through Kelty by a carriage
drawn by two white horses in pink livery.
Last night, Madison’s grandmother, Agnes Haldane, welcomed Park’s life term.
Speaking from her home in Lochgelly, Fife, the 78-year-old said: ‘Madison was such a lovely wee girl, always smiling and happy.
‘I
was glad to hear of Park’s sentence. My son, Thomas (the toddler’s
biological father) called me to let me know. Park was such a bad man.
How could he do that to a little girl? It’s sickening.’
Last
night, Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont said: ‘This crime
was appalling and that has been reflected in the sentence.
‘But
people will be sickened when they see just how prolific a criminal past
this individual had. They will rightly ask questions why authorities
were not keeping a closer eye on him. And despite all the inevitable
questions, it ought to be remembered that the responsibility for this
awful offence lies squarely at the feet of the killer himself.’
Devastated mother fooled into believing evil killer's innocence
By Rachel Watson
Night out: Anne Marie White had left
her daughter in her partner's care for just a few hours while she went
out to celebrate a friend's birthday
She loved and trusted him so deeply that she defended him only hours after her daughter died.
But
Anne Marie White, 22, would later learn that the man she had let into
her home had broken that trust and savagely beaten her two-year-old
daughter to death.
Kevin
Park, 27, fooled the young mother into believing that little Madison
had died after falling from her bed while playing, despite rumours that
he had killed her.
Writing
on her Facebook page only hours after Madison was pronounced dead at
the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Miss White said that Park
‘would never hurt’ the toddler.
She hit out at speculation in her home town of Kelty, Fife, that suggested Park had played a role in Madison’s death.
The couple had been together only five months when the toddler died on April 20.
Miss
White said: ‘Well I suppose everyone knows I lost my precious little
girl last night and I know what everyone is saying, especially about
Kevin. I just want to say that he would never hurt her. This was just an
accident. It would have happened if I was in the house. He’s not a bad
person.’
She said that she was ‘pretty certain’ Park would protect her daughter, just like he would his own kids.
‘He
wouldn’t let anything happen to his own kids so I’m pretty certain that
he wouldn’t hurt Madison,’ Miss White added. ‘He loves her to bits. He
will miss her.’ Park had only recently moved in with Miss White and
Madison.
On
the night of her daughter’s death, the young mother had been out
celebrating her friend’s birthday and had left Park, who has two
children of his own, in charge of Madison.
Like
many mothers, she believed that the person she had left looking after
her beloved daughter could be trusted to make sure the child remained
safe.
Yet in the short time she was gone, Park attacked and killed the youngster.
Crime scene: Forensic officers leave the flat where Park battered to death tiny Madison in cold blood
The
morning after Madison’s ‘lifeless body’ was urgently admitted to
hospital, neighbours said that they had seen Park being escorted from
Miss White’s ground floor flat into a police car, fuelling speculation
he had killed the child.
Giving
evidence in court, Miss White said that she was ‘content’ to leave
Madison in Park’s care and that her daughter had been ‘hyper’ when she
left.
Contrary
to Miss White’s statement online after her daughter’s death, Police
Constable John McDiarmid said that Park was more interested in smoking
than in looking after Madison.
He was giving evidence at the High Court in Glasgow last week about what he witnessed after arriving at Miss White’s home.
PC McDiarmid said: ‘There was no asking how she was. His main concern was trying to roll a cigarette.’
Paramedic
Paul Cooney, who battled to save Madison, said that Park ‘wasn’t really
upset’ despite the youngster’s serious condition.
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